The Death Of The Desktop

THE ONCE commonplace desktop PC has been relegated to Britain’s dusty workplace store room, joining relics such as the fax machine and the landline phone, while the retail sector adopts tablets and smart devices at breakneck speed and ahead of other business sectors.

The survey of 1,013 British adults carried out by gadgets and technology e-tailer, LaptopsDirect.co.uk, found that just 42% of UK workers now use a desktop computer in the office.

In fact, 26% of Brits in the workplace expect to have a laptop upgrade before the year is out, with a fifth of workers believing desktop PCs make today’s offices look dated and out of touch.

Instead, 38% of workers use laptops and 22% even use tablets.

The industries where the desktop has died the biggest death are retail (20%), hospitality and leisure (16%), marketing and creative (12%), construction (9%) and professional services (5%).

84% of workers who use a laptop report an increase in workplace productivity, saying they get more work done as a result of having a more flexible device.

Furthermore, 77% of those surveyed believe desktop PCs can actually date an offices look, which could ‘turn off’ potential new business clients.

Mark Kelly, marketing manager at LaptopsDirect.co.uk, said:

“More and more we’re hearing from our business customers that not only do clients expect workers to be able to work on the go, but increasingly the generation Z and millennial aged workforces climbing today’s career ladder expect a degree of flex on working hours and patterns. Which requires devices that enable them to work remotely or on the move.

“Combined with the findings that workers feel more productive in the office, and more motivated to do their best work, when upgraded to a laptop or tech gadget, it really is a no-brainer to picture what offices today should comprise of. It feels like the desktop PCs has had its day. They don’t lend well to the open-plan, flexible working offices of today, or the need for businesses to respond to today’s fast pace of working and ‘always on’ approach to business.”

Laptops Direct is the UK’s largest online laptop specialist, selling a wide range of new and refurbished laptops from leading brands, as well as a wide range of other lifestyle gadgets.